Teacher Attitude

Your attitude towards art will set the tone in the classroom. It is important that you believe that everyone can "do art". You may not feel very confident about your own ability, but it is critical that you don't put yourself down. Practice learning to say things such as: "I'm looking forward to practice my sketching skills." "I haven't worked with paint much before, so I'll be learning along with you." It is okay to be critical about certain aspects of a project, but not about yourself as an artist.

For some students it will be a challenge to find positive comments about their art. Try asking them questions about their choices. When you come across some evidence of their thinking, be sure to praise them for it.
 
 

Creating an Art Community

It is important for students to feel safe and respected during art projects. Spend some time with your class coming up with some guidelines for art time. Examples might include: comments are limited to questions and/or compliments, comments about artwork can only be given when asked for by the artist, and artwork can only be touched by the artist or teacher. You may also want to spend some time brainstorming how to prevent accidents and spills which can damage artwork.
 
 

Art is a process.

The biggest mistake usually made in teaching art is ignoring the process element. We do not expect students to write a perfect report in one sitting, yet, teachers often schedule one hour on a Friday to start and complete an entire art project.

Keep the writing process in mind when planning for art. Students need to move through a similar progression of stages to finish a quality project.
 
 
 

The Writing Process	The Art Process
Inspiration Looking at good writing, mini-lessons, discussions	Inspiration Viewing and discussing artwork, art techniques, and/or art styles
Pre-Writing Brainstorming, research, outlining, free writing	Warm-Up Practice sketches, finding art models to draw or paint from, research on art styles, collect materials
Rough Draft Writing freely without concern for grammar and spelling	Art Production Begin art project, put down light lines on paper to lay out major areas, begin filling in with color
Revising Getting feedback and making content changes	Revising Getting feedback and making changes or additions
Editing Making grammar and spelling changes	Finishing Touches Add any last needed touches, make a title card and/or artist statement, frame work or otherwise prepare for display
Publishing Having work printed and/or shared in a public place	Presentation Display in school or gallery, submit to be published in a magazine or newsletter

 

You can do this!

Whatever your knowledge base or art ability, you can teach art in a meaningful way. This dynamic is routine in other subject areas, but for some reason, teachers are more fearful with art. With history or computers, many of us have to spend a bit of time reviewing or exploring before teaching a lesson. Art can be the same way.

Take it slow, consult with other teachers, take advantage of any artistically skilled volunteers, and check out some of the resources listed on this site.

Remember too that you don't have to complete the art projects along with the students, your job is to set up a positive, skill-building experience for them. Please don't limit your students to your safety zone. Two or three quality projects a year is infinitely better than countless craftsy projects.
 
 

Individual Differences

Getting ready for individual differences in skill, talent, and work pace will help alleviate the frustration that is sometimes felt by teachers and students around art projects. It's helpful to think about students with special needs ahead of time and collect any materials or resources that will facilitate their success.
 
 

Art Development

It's important to remember that art has a developmental continuum as well. Understanding even a little bit about the different phases of art development can assist you in creating successful projects and knowing how to respond to your students' work. See Adapting Art for Grade Level.
 
 

Art is Important

Art is immensely important on many levels: art is a vital part of community and culture, participating in art allows students to develop a visual language (vital in our world of sophisticated graphics and symbols), artistic achievement boasts self esteem, and working with art develops the right brain processes.

As for classroom and learning skills, art promotes creative and innovative thinking, problem solving, a whole-to-part approach, craftsmanship, and courage or risk taking. In addition, students can use the visual language of art to communicate ideas and concepts from other subject areas.